The present invention relates to cameras having an internal strobe, and more specifically, to devices for disabling the internal strobe when an external strobe unit is attached to the camera.
Modern cameras may be built with a pop-up internal strobe unit. Such an internal strobe unit typically has a limited range, and a camera may have some provision for attaching a generic or dedicated external strobe unit. Frequently, a hot shoe is provided to the camera body for mounting and controlling the external strobe. The hot shoe is conventionally provided close to the pop-up strobe.
However, modern cameras may also be constructed with a contoured body and a recessed hot shoe, and have a hot shoe cover for protecting the hot shoe and for preserving the contour of the camera body. The hot shoe cover is mounted to the hot shoe in a like manner to an external strobe coupling mount.
When a camera has a pop-up strobe located next to the hot shoe, if the strobe is popped-up when the external strobe is mounted, the pop-up and external strobes interfere with each other. A camera may suppress the pop-up of an internal strobe when an external strobe is mounted. However, such a camera, unable to discriminate between the hot shoe cover and an external strobe unit, is not able to control the pop-up of the internal strobe according to the mounted part. If such provision is not included, the internal strobe may be disabled inappropriately if a hot shoe cover is mounted in the hot shoe.